Previous Engagement
by Magic Kaito
Summary: 2 Part Teaser. In a time of tough tranistions, can two souls defy fate and end up together? AUish
1. Chapter 1

Posted: 9/4/05

Previous Engagement

AN: Welcome to my new fic **teaser**. Yeah. Once again, I got a new fic idea. Boo! Oh well, it's one of those ones that I just can't not do. Before I go into explanations, I'll put my disclaimer. I don't own Inuyasha. Or anything I based this off of. Well, this only hints at Inuyasha, but still.

This is kind of a first for me, as I got the idea from reading another fic. While thoroughly enjoying myself reading "Comrade in Arms" by Personification of Fluff (which you should go and read right now if you haven't! Seriously. This story stinks compared to that one, and it hasn't even started yet), this idea came from the strange confines of my brain. I don't want to say much more for fear of ruining the story (cause I like feeling mysterious sometimes), but I will say that I _briefly_ researched my settings (i.e. if you're an expert, don't get mad when I screw up).

Much thanks to my good friend **Candyland **for beta-ing this chapter for me. Trust me, I need it...

* * *

Chapter 1

The sun peeked over the ancient hills, soil periodically sifting into the river below. The sky was a mix of orange and yellow, shining brightly as if it was anticipating the fiery sphere that would soon be resting within it. A sparrow perched on one of the smaller branches of a flower-laden tree, happily singing to greet the coming day. The scent of the blossoms it was nestled in seeped through the cracks of the door and filled the room.

This is what she awoke to that morning. The light of the coming day quietly danced across the floor as her eyes opened, followed by a few blinks. She slowly sat up and stared at the floor, her mind still groggy with sleep.

Silently, she slid off of her bed, which was slightly elevated off the ground, with a few pieces of fabric hanging at it's edges. As quietly as she could she made her way across the floor, going to her wardrobe on the far side of the room. She bent down and dug through the seemingly dirty fabric at the bottom before finding the objects of her interest.

Just then, the door opened. A woman, dressed in much simpler fabrics than those that hung above where she looked, peered inside. "Shan Hu?" she asked quietly, causing her to sit up with a start and throw the cloth back over what she had been looking at.

"Y-yes?" she replied, regaining her composure and standing up, looking at the woman with little emotion.

"I was supposed to tell you that your father wants to see you after the morning meal. I believe he wants to discuss your... behavior as a lady."

She internally sighed. She knew what this conversation was going to be about. They'd had it several times before. "Thank you," she said, quietly, watching the woman bow her head slightly before slipping out and closing the door. She once again bent down and uncovered the objects she had been gazing at before: the clothing that was nothing like the silk dresses that floated above it, and a long sword, resting in its sheath.

* * *

As the sunlight hit his face, he slowly awoke and sat up. The thin bed rolls were not exactly comfortable, and yet all of the others seemed to still be sleeping away. He stood up as quietly as he could, grabbing the pieces of armor he had secretly taken off to try and add some comfort to the hard ground. He carefully stepped around the others, trying to find a quiet spot in the nearby trees were he could throw the rest of his things back on without anyone noticing. 

"Heshang!" a voice suddenly cried. He stopped dead in his tracks, dropping the armor that he held in his hands.

"Y-yes, Captain Gangya?" he replied nervously, watching the heavily decorated soldier approach him.

"Heshang Jiu Zhu," he mumbled, frowning at him. "Once again, I find that you took off some of the most protective parts of your armor during the night! What if someone were to attack us in our sleep? Then were would you be?"

"Lying dead on the ground, Gangya, sir?" he replied, hoping that his punishment would not be too severe this time.

"Exactly!" the captain answered, his glare growing bigger. "You are failing to come up to the standards of a soldier of the emperor! I don't know if you can continue in his service like this..."

He swallowed hard. True, he didn't always follow the rules, but this wasn't enough for him to actually _be_ lying dead on the ground, was it?

"Be warned, Heshang," Gangya began, leaning his face in close to him, "if I hear of _anything_ that requires me to reassign any of my men, you will be there in a heartbeat!" With that, he stomped away, heading back to his tent and preparing to wake the others.

He sighed with relief. Frankly, that could have gone a lot worse. And getting away from Captain Gangya didn't sound like such a bad proposition to him.

* * *

Liu Shan Hu muttered to herself and pulled out her light blue silk robe. Her black hair hung down slightly below the bottom of her shoulder blades, much shorter than her father would have liked. She began dressing herself, her dark, glassy eyes not seeming too interesting in her outfit. Her face was not quite as round as most of the other girls, although there was nothing she could do about that. There _was_ something, her father always told her, that she could do about how dark her skin was. She stayed out in the sun too long, he'd say, and would refuse to wear the tradition paint of a proper lady. Not like it really bothered her any, but since she was supposed to marry soon, he saw fit that she would become an ideal woman. Frankly, she didn't know what "ideal" was. She put her hair into a loose bun and left her room, making her way into the small dining room where she ate and mentally preparing herself for another lecture.

* * *

Heshang Jiu Zhu was not the usual warrior. He was the sole survivor of an attack on his village when he was a child, and was immediately sent away to study by the soldiers who found him huddling next to the bloody corpses of his parents. Not knowing what exactly the boy would be best at, he was put into school as well as martial arts training. He showed potential in both; his masters all said he should be in the army, while his teachers thought he should apply to be a government official. Jiu Zhu ended up following the path of his father as a fighter, although his spilt time in both areas seemed to be the cause of his lack of focus while with the troop. He had a strange interest in the women he would come across, although nothing much would ever come out of his conversations with them. He always seemed carefree, though. A smile could usually be seen on his face, which was a little bit longer than most mens'. His hair was a very dark brown and bound near the middle of his head, causing it to stick straight out behind him. His eyes were of a lighter brown, apparently the same as his mother, who was rumored to be a rare beauty. This was another reason why people thought he tended to specialize in them. 

Jiu Zhu had finally put on the rest of his armor and returned to the camp, the other men grumbling as they woke and giving him short glares. He blinked in confusion, although something in his eyes made it seem like he knew what they were upset about. Just then, he was hit on the back of the head by a sheathed sword.

"What the hell were you doing, Heshang!" the carrier of the weapon hissed at him, frowning.

He smiled as innocently as he could while rubbing the bruising skin. "Why, whatever do you mean, Gou Yaomo?" he asked, still not wanting everyone angry with him.

"You got Gangya in a bad mood," Ban Gou Yaomo, the closest person Jiu Zhu had to a friend, replied. "Now he's gonna be pissed off all day!"

"Well, my sincerest apologies, but I could not get an adequate amount of rest with all of this jabbing into me. It's a matter of my well-being, really. Were there to be an attack, I'm sure I would fare better with enough sleep and no armor than I would the other way around."

"Would you just shut up!" he said, starting to follow the other men to where the fires had been started for breakfast. "Look, just don't come crying to me when nobody talks to you for the next few days!"

"But you talked to me," Jiu Zhu pointed out, grinning.

Gou Yaomo snorted, saying, "That's because if I didn't, no one would and you'd be going around acting like you had done nothing wrong!"

"I didn't..." he began, adjusting the armor over his right elbow.

"Yeah, you did, Heshang!" he interrupted, walking away. "Just... keep the rest of us out trouble, all right?"

He sighed. Once again, this would not be one of his days.

* * *

AN: It's over! Well, that chapter at least. This one is kind of like _Fate_ where I know where it's going to go eventually, but I don't know how long it'll take me to get there. Speaking of which, I need to work on that one. Curse my overactive imagination! Please review so I'll know if I should bother to work on this! 

And don't ask me how to pronounce their names, because honestly I have no idea. As I said, there was little research involved in this. Enough to make me feel like I wasn't completely inventing these things, but I'm sure there are many imperfections. Of course, I haven't really given the year yet (and I don't know if I plan on it ever coming up), so maybe that'll help, hee hee.


	2. Chapter 2

Posted: 09/16/05

Chapter 2

AN: (looks sadly at my other chapter fics) Why did they stop moving? And why _is_ this one? Eh, that means it's only a matter of time before this one freezes, right? Don'tcha love my optimism? And the fact that I don't own Inuyasha? No, you don't love that. Then again, maybe it is a good thing, lol. This story is a weird one for me. I've never done anything like it. And I feel like this is some weird crossover between Mulan and... well, Inuyasha, I guess, lol. But it's not. I'm not even used to the names. I can't remember :looks it up: Jiu Zhu to save my life sometimes. Although, I really like the name "Ban Gou Yaomo" for some reason... Okay, I'm done ranting now.

Iggy- Essence of Angst: Yeah, I think my biggest problem is that I compare myself to other people in almost everything I do. As for the reason I chose China, well, everyone uses Japan, and I wanted something different. And there might be more to that choice, as you'll later see...

Starzki: Come now, did I say this was a reincarnation fic? Give me more credit than that! (Cue evil laughter)

Candyland: Ah, my beloved beta reader/idea bouncer offer/muse/person whose house I go to for anime parties/um... Okay, I ran out of slashes. Thank you!

* * *

"Where is she?" Liu Di Yu growled. "I'm positive that she was instructed to report here after she ate. What is taking her so long?"

"Shall I look for her?" a nearby servant asked.

"No," he replied gruffly. "She'll show up if she knows what's good for her." The servant nodded.

A few minutes later, a very out of breath Shan Hu entered the room, her hair slightly mussed. "My apologies, father," she said, bowing before him. "I was delayed on my way to see you."

"What could have possibly delayed you?" he exclaimed. "Were you running around in the courtyard again? How many times have I instructed you not to do that? A proper lady does not exercise every morning, like you apparently think you must do. Even while wearing a dress as fine as that!"

Shan Hu remained silent, keeping her face toward the ground. She had learned over the years that it was best not to outwardly argue with her father, as nothing could ever change his mind about politics and what was considered appropriate.

"Now," he continued sternly, "this is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about. You are to be married in less than three months. Why do you insist upon behaving like this? Your husband will not accept this."

She nearly replied, "Has he told you so himself?", but thought better of making her father more angry than he already was and kept quiet.

"We are all ready behind in some of the newest fashions," he continues, standing up and beginning to pace. "Had we known when you were small that binding you feet was considered appropriate, we would have done so. This is just one more obstacle we will have to overcome when your husband arrives. Why can't you make that my only problem?

"I do not, nor will I ever understand, your reasoning behind leaving this place so much. A woman's place is inside of her home looking after her children. If you will not wear make up and continue to get all of this sunlight, I don't know what his family will think of ours. If only your mother had survived to teach you what being a lady was all about..."

Shan Hu sighed to herself. She had heard him say this many times before. Her mother had died after childbirth, only giving her father one child. As if that wasn't bad enough, it was a girl. She had often heard him say, quite loudly and in her presence, that he wished she had been a boy. She would sometimes wonder if that was the reason she wasn't as much of a lady as he would have liked, although that would make it his own fault. But Liu Di Yu was not the sort of man to admit his own mistakes. In fact, in his mind, he was infallible, and if something were to go wrong, he could easily find something or someone else to blame it on. Most of the time, it was her.

"We don't have much time," he continued, still pacing. "You must be presentable when the Zhuo family arrives. You are this family's only hope of maintaining status in this place."

There was that word again: status. It seemed to be Di Yu's favorite word, especially preceded by the word "high." He was very careful about whom he associated with. In fact, he would rarely leave their estate for fear of being seen around people of a lower ilk than he believed himself to be in.

"I want you to think about all of that," he finished, seeming tired. "Now, go and make yourself presentable to other people. The sooner you get used to it, the better of we'll be."

Shan Hu bowed slightly and left. The second the door closed behind her, she quickly walked to her room with a huge scowl on her face.

"How did it go?" a voice whispered. Shan Hu looked behind her, seeing a servant about a year or two younger than her running to meet her.

"The same," she replied disdainfully. "He wants me to be more of a lady for when my husband shows up, since I wasn't the son that he wanted to have."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" the girl asked, finally walking beside her. "I mean, I'd take your place any day than making food almost all day."

"Then why don't we switch, Zhao? Working all day sounds a lot better to me than sitting around and waiting for my husband's beckon call."

"Trust me. You don't want my life. Besides, even if we did try to switch, I'm sure someone would notice."

"My father wouldn't. Trust me, especially if you start acting the way he wants me to act, he wouldn't suspect a thing."

"Well, I wouldn't wish a servant's life on you, so the answer is no," Zhao finished, coming to the door to Shan Hu's room.

"Suit yourself," she sighed, opening the door. "Seriously, though, you should really think about finding a husband. You'd make a much better wife than I would."

Zhao laughed. "No, I'll probably be put with one of the young men who works around here by the head of the house. I don't think you realize how lucky are, Shan Hu."

"The same to you, Zhao," she said with a slight smile, going into her room and closing the door.

* * *

"Liu, sir," said the messenger, bowing low before the frustrated man.

"What do you want?" he grumbled.

"There is word that troops from the south are making their way toward this village. I was told to inform all of the prominent families in the area and ask if they wanted military protection in case of an attack."

Di Yu blinked in surprise. "So the war's finally making its way up here, is it? Fine. I could probably use some soldiers around here. I can't risk anything ruining everything my line has worked for, even though it's about to end. It won't cost much, will it?"

"No, sir," the man replied. "Thank you very much for your time." With that, he left.

"Yes, yes, yes," Di Yu sighed. "Why must fate be so cruel to me? What did I ever do?"

* * *

AN: Since I've hinted at it enough already, and you basically know what's going on here, I shall now state that this is taking place in 1000 AD (not CE, dammit). Contemplate that... It'll probably be a while before you see chapter 3, as I'm probably going to figure out the exact layout of the rest of the story before I do too much with it. Or maybe not. We'll see. Plus, I'm busy at school. So think of this as part two of the teaser for now. 


End file.
